Hallo aus Berlin
Hallo aus Berlin is a German-language BBC schools TV series from the 1990s and 2000s, covering German Language for secondary school pupils.
A contemporary and engaging 1990s series for beginners in German.
A group of lively German teenagers talk about and reenact their everyday lives and interests, and interview other young people in the street. The teenage presenters appear throughout the series so that viewers get to know them, their personalities and their families.
Meanwhile two computer animated teenagers called Rolli and Rita appear in a short comic story each week, and sing a vocabulary-laden song. Their energetic and very dynamic, motion-captured dance moves capturing the attention of many learners.
The programmes used only native German speakers, and were recorded on location in the east and west parts of 1990s Berlin
.
Titles & Theme Music
In a computer animated control room the character Rolli dances to the theme music while words and scenes of contemporary Berlin appear on screens all around him, and the real teenagers featured in the series sing and dance their introductions.
Hallo, hallo
Hallo, hallo... aus Berlin.
- Hallo! Ich bin Marko.
- Ich bin Jessica.
- Ich bin Daniel.
- Hallo! Ich bin Esther.
- Ich bin Thomas.
- Ich bin Miriam.
Hallo. Hallo. Hallo. Hallo.
Hallo aus Berlin
Ja!
Songs
Each episode includes an educational song using and repeating key vocabulary, in particular to emphasise language elements that learners often find tricky such as word order and gender.
The catchy songs are performed by Rolli and Rita, with words shown on screen and accompanying animation of the characters' vigorous dance routines.
Here is a list with a brief sample of the lyrics to each song.
Hallo. Ich bin Rita. Wie heißt du?
Ich bin vierzehn. Wie alt bist du? Bist du vier?
From episode 1
Ich habe eine Schwester.
Sie heißt Maria.
Ich habe einen Bruder.
Peter ist sein Name.
Das ist meine Familie.
Das ist meine Familie.
From episode 2
Wer wohnt in einem Haus?
Wer wohnt in einer Stadt?
Wer wohnt in einer Wohnung?
Wer wohnt auf dem Land?
From episode 3
Eins, zwei, drei, vier.
Ist eine Post hier?
Fünf, sechs, sieben, acht.
Wie komme ich zur Post?
From episode 4
Eins, zwei, dreimal.
Eins, zwei, dreimal Eis bitte.
Vier, fünf, sechsmal.
Vier, fünf, sechsmal Eis bitte.
From episode 5
Einmal in der Woche: Kunst und Musik.
Zweimal in der Woche: Geschichte und Deutsch.
Dreimal in der Woche: Mathe, Englisch aber...
From episode 6
Was machen Sie am Wochenende?
Was machst du am Wochenende?
Was machen Sie am Wochenende?
In der Freizeit was machst du?
From episode 7
Mein Arm. Meine Arme.
Mein Bein. Meine Beine.
Mein Fuß. Meine Füße.
Mein Ohr. Meine Ohren.
Meine Nase. Meine Nase.
Mein Kopf. Mein Kopf.
From episode 8
Wann hast du Geburtstag?
Wann hast du Geburtstag?
Miriam im Januar.
Marko im Februar.
Jessica im März.
From episode 9
Das ist unser Berlin, unsere Stadt.
Das ist unser Berlin.
Was denkst du von unserer Stadt?
From episode 10
Episode List
| # | Title | English title | Broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Wir | Us | 19 Sep 1996 |
| 2. | Familie | Family | 26 Sep 1996 |
| 3. | Zu Hause | At Home | 3 Oct 1996 |
| 4. | In der Stadt | In Town | 10 Oct 1996 |
| 5. | Essen und Trinken | Food and Drink | 17 Oct 1996 |
| 6. | Schule | School | 31 Oct 1996 |
| 7. | Freizeit | Free Time | 7 Nov 1996 |
| 8. | Gesundheit | Health | 14 Nov 1996 |
| 9. | Ferien und Feste | Holidays and Festivals | 21 Nov 1996 |
| 10. | Unser Berlin | Our Berlin | 28 Nov 1996 |
Demo-Band
A five minute long preview programme featuring clips from the series and a description of how it could be used, was presented as a trailer or Demo-Band.
This was first shown on BBC2 on Thursday 23rd May 1996, and continued to be repeated as a filler on the Learning Zone as late as Wednesday 26th September 2007.
Songs Episode
An additional, full 15 minute episode of the series, complete with opening titles and end credits, reprised all of the Songs from the series alongside the Rolli and Rita dance animations.
This was first broadcast on the morning of Friday 28th March 1997 at 4:45am in the Learning Zone strand on BBC2, at the end of a language compilation for young learners also including episodes of Quinze Minutes, Ici Paris, Lernexpress, Diez Temas, Isabel and Jeunes Francophones.
Shorter versions of the Songs episode were shown as a filler after other Learning Zone programmes, starting from the beginning of the episode and simply stopping after a handful of the songs had been shown according to the time available.
Broadcasts
| Year | Term | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Channel | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | Autumn 1996 | Thursday, 12:15pm | BBC2 | |||||
| 1997-98 | Spring 1998 | Thursday, 9:10am | BBC2 | |||||
| 1998-99 | Spring 1999 | Wednesday, 9:10am | BBC2 | |||||
| 1999-2000 | Autumn 1999 | Tuesday, 2:00am | BBC2 | 30 Nov-1 Dec | ||||
| 2000-01 | Autumn 2000 | Monday, 2:00am | BBC2 | 30-31 Oct | ||||
| 2001-02 | Autumn 2001 | Tuesday, 2:00am | BBC2 | 30-31 Oct | ||||
| 2002-03 | Autumn 2002 | Tuesday, 2:00am | BBC2 | 5-6 Nov | ||||
| 2003-04 | Autumn 2003 | Tuesday, 2:00am | BBC2 | 18-19 Nov | ||||
| 2004-05 | Summer 2005 | Friday, 2:00am | BBC2 | 20 May | ||||
| 2005-06 | Autumn 2005 | Friday, 4:00am | BBC2 | 16 Sep | ||||
| Spring 2006 | Friday, 4:00am | BBC2 | 27 Jan | |||||
| 2006-07 | Spring 2007 | Friday, 4:00am | BBC2 | 19 Jan | ||||
| 2007-08 | Spring 2008 | Friday, 4:00am | BBC2 | 1 Feb |
This list of broadcasts only covers the main, 10 episode series, and not the extra Demo-Band and Songs episodes, which were screened separately but in roughly the same years.
CBBC Channel
The series was also broadcast on the CBBC Channel's Class TV strand of schools programmes in Autumn 2002, weekdays at 11:20am from 2nd to 13th December.
Credits
| Presented by | Marko Walther Jessica König |
| Voices | Christina Fry Nina Hamm |
| Rita and Rolli Movement Artists | Simona Bolletti |
| Photography | Chris Sutcliffe |
| Music | Sandy Nuttgens |
| Lyrics | Steven Fawkes |
| Graphic Design and Animation | Baxter Hobbins Sides |
| Computer Animation | Aldis Animation at Molinare |
| Cartoon Stories | Amanda Rainger |
| Consultant | Deborah Walls |
| Education officer | Steven Fawkes |
| Goethe-Institut Language Consultant | Yolanda Schwager |
| Goethe-Institut Language and Cultural Consultant | Karl Pfeiffer |
| Goethe-Institut Associate Producer | Roland Dittrich |
| Director | Scott Ross |
| Executive Producer | Len Brown |
| Producer | Ronald Smedley |
Resources
Teacher's Notes
A booklet containing teaching suggestions, pupils' worksheets and transcripts of all the episodes.
Written by Deborah Walls, illustrated by Phillip Morrison, designed by Steve Hollingshead, picture researcher Emma Segal.
A Hallo aus Berlin booklets were produced by Goeth-Institut to support the series elsewhere in the world, but not sold in the UK.
Audio cassette
A cassette containing both lyrical and instrumental recordings of the songs from the series was released in the teacher's pack, so that pupils could record their own versions of the songs in the classroom.
Video
The series was released on video by the BBC, in a pack with the teacher's notes and audio cassette.
Links
- BBC Programmes page for Hallo aus Berlin
- Hallo aus Berlin on Wikipedia
- Hallo aus Berlin on the Internet Movie Database
- Hallo aus Berlin WikiThe series' lasting impact on its viewers has earned it a 'wiki' site and fan art of Rolli and Rita…
- Hallo aus Berlin (TV series) - TV Tropes…and an entry on the TV Tropes website.
Related programmes
- The German Programme: Willkommen!A contemporary series from Channel 4 Schools with a similar focus on modern teenage life.
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